Foster Moms
by IAmBatman4Eva
Summary: When Olivia and Alex decide to foster two kids whose mom has gone missing, they never expected life to do a complete flip flop. How will Alex, Olivia, and Sam adjust to their new lives?
1. Welcome to the Jungle

**Chapter 1**

Life had changed drastically since Olivia and Alex decided to foster a brother and a sister whose mom had gone missing a few weeks ago, they were still looking for her or another relative that could take care of them. Having an 8 and 6 year old in the house made staying out late impossible and waking up earlier than normal essential.

"Grace, why are you still in you footie pajamas?" Olivia asked walking into the kitchen with a towel around her neck, she had just gotten out of the shower and her hair was soaking wet.

"Olivia, it's pajama day for her class today, remember?" Alex said brushing her hair on the living room couch.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot!" Olivia said opening a drawer

"What are you looking for?" Grace asked before taking a spoonful of oatmeal

"I'm looking for my brush sweetie." Olivia said

"Oh, I'm using it." Alex said

"Can I have it please?" Olivia asked

"Sure. Sam, take to mommy." Alex said giving Sam the brush

Sam took the brush in his mouth and trotted over to Olivia and dropped the brush at her feet.

"Thank you. Good boy." Olivia said picking up the brush

Olivia took a treat from the box on the counter and gave it to Sam.

"Where is Ben?" Olivia asked pushing the box back into its place

"He's trying to pick out an outfit to impress a girl in his class." Alex said buttoning her jacket

"Benjamin!" Olivia called

Ben came around the corner in his blue Nikes, camouflage pants, and white sweater. His hair was completely soaked in gel and was slicked back.

"What do you think Aunt Olivia?" Ben asked with a worried look

Olivia turned her head toward Alex and gave her a look that said "What do I tell him?"

Alex got off the couch and walked over to Ben and crouched down in front of him.

"Why don't you go put on one of your play shirts so you can take Sam for a walk? When you get back I'll have an outfit laid out on your bed that will really impress that girl, alright?" Alex said in a low and sweet voice

"Okay! Come on Sam!" Ben called as he went to his room

"Don't let Sam pull you Ben, and Sam don't pull Ben." Alex said

"Alright." Ben said before going into his room

Olivia smiled at Alex. She was always getting her out of intense situations.

"I want to go with them!" Grace protested as she got out of the chair

"You young lady need your hair brushed so you're going to stay with me and Aunt Alex." Olivia said picking her up

Alex grabbed Grace's brush and container of hair ties, before going to the couch. Olivia carried Grace over and placed her on Alex's lap.

"We'll be back in a few minutes." Ben said when he was about to walk out the front door

"Be careful you two." Olivia said as she walked past them to go blow dry her hair.

Alex put Grace's dark brown hair into two ponytails, she twisted the hair of both of them around her fingers to give them a little curl. When she was done she put a coloring book and crayons on the coffee table?

"Come color a picture for me while I get your brother's clothes." Alex said in a sweet voice

"Okay!" Grace said excitedly as she climbed off the couch

Alex walked to the back of the house and put a red collared shirt, black pants, white clip on bow tie, black ankle socks, and black Nikes on Benjamin's bed. She refolded the white sweater on the floor and put it back in his dresser.

"Olivia we have 20 minutes before we need to get the kiddos to school." Alex said as she walked down the hall to the bathroom.

"Alright. I'll go put their stuff in their lunch boxes in a second." Olivia said buttoning the buttons on her sleeve

"Thank you. I need to go put on my shoes and check to see if Ben and Sam are back yet." Alex said before kissing Olivia

Alex walked to the front door and grabbed her black heels. While she put them on she watched Ben and Sam come through the front gate and up the driveway. Alex opened the door and the two of them walked in.

"I didn't let Sam pull me and Sam didn't pull me." Ben said taking the leash off of Sam's harness.

"Good boys." Alex said

"Benjamin, your clothes are on your bed. Please go change as fast as you can." She continued

Olivia came out of the bathroom and put a yogurt, sandwich, apple, juice box, and fruit snack in each lunch box, before putting the lunch boxes in their backpacks. Alex grabbed Grace's pink jacket and Ben's blue one, and put them on top of the backpacks. Olivia took the jackets and backpacks to her Altima before coming inside to grab her bag.

"Come on Gracie!" Olivia said

Grace put down her crayon and walked over to Olivia who picked her up and took her to the car.

"Ben! Let's go!" Alex said grabbing her briefcase

Ben came around the corner look far more adorable than originally expected.

"She's going to be all over you!" Alex laughed

"Come on! She's waiting for you!" Alex said walking to the front door

Sam ran to the door and tried to go out with them

"Sam, stay!" Ben said before Alex could

Sam sat and began whining. Alex smirked as she closed the door and got into the car.

"We're going to be 2 minutes early! This is great!" Olivia said as she backed out of the driveway.

After they were dropped off, Alex and Olivia went back to the house.

"You think we convinced them that we had to work today?" Alex asked taking out her ponytail before Olivia opened the front door

"Oh yeah! They totally fell for it." Olivia laughed


	2. No Time For Questions

**Chapter 2**

"Morning Ben!" Alex smiled when he came around the corner

"Aunt Alexandra, Grace and I came up with a series of questions to ask you and Aunt Olivia. I'll be asking the questions since Grace is busy painting." Ben said putting a notebook on the table.

Alex raised an eyebrow, took of her glasses, and closed her binder she had been working in.

"Wow, someone's very forward this morning." Alex said

Olivia and Sam walked in from the backyard a few seconds later

"What are you two doing?" She asked as she took off her shoes

"Ben and Grace want to ask us some questions, but Grace is painting so Ben is going to ask." Alex said

"Oh…?" Olivia said confusedly

"Please come sit down." Ben said sternly

Olivia sat down at the table and scratched her head confusedly

"So, let's get started. Shall we?" Ben said

"What are your names?" Ben asked

Olivia looked at Alex and shook her head

"Someone's been watching crime television again, when I told them not to." Olivia said

"I haven't been watching, I promise." Ben whined

"I got most of these questions from Uncle Elliot." He continued

"Oh, even better, Alex remind me to make a phone call later tonight." Olivia said gritting her teeth

"I need your names for the record please." Ben said

I'm Alexandra Benson and she's Olivia Benson." Alex said before Olivia could say anything else.

Ben appeared to right down something in his notebook.

"How old are you two?" Ben asked lowering his sunglasses slightly.

"We're old enough." Alex said still trying to keep Olivia from replying sarcastically.

"It says on here that you two are married. Why is that? You two are girls." Ben asked confusedly

Olivia looked at Alex and mouthed "There's nothing written in that notebook."

Alex chuckled silently before leaning over and whispering in Olivia's ear

"I answered the last one, it's your turn."

Olivia narrowed her eyes before turning her head back to Benjamin.

"Well Ben, when two people love each other it doesn't matter if they're a boy or a girl." Olivia said sweetly

"Okay…" He said still kind of unsure

"Anyways, Grace wants to know if we can have macaroni and cheese for dinner." Ben said changing the subject

"Sure! We can go get ice cream afterwards too if you want." Olivia said smiling because the pressure was now off

Grace walked by them sitting at the table.

"I want ice cream!" She said without even looking up or stopping on her way to the living room.

"Alright, I'll start dinner now then so we can go to the ice cream place where we love to watch the sunset." Olivia said getting up

"Do you have any more questions?" Alex asked

"Just one." Ben said closing his notebook

"What?" Alex asked

"Where's our mother?" Ben said asked with tears forming in his eyes.

"I came up with that question myself."

Olivia stopped dead in the motion of opening up the fridge and looked at Alex. Her eyes were pleading with Alex not to tell him the truth. Not to tell him that their mother had been found, and had given up all rights to both of them. She wanted nothing to do with them.

Alex looked at Olivia before standing up from the table.

"Wait here." She said to Ben before grabbing Olivia's wrist and taking her into the bedroom.

"Don't!" Olivia said getting out of Alex's grasp

"Don't what?" Alex said closing the door

"Don't tell me that we have to tell them because we don't." Olivia said sitting on the bed as tears ran down her cheek.

"They're better off not knowing. We could become their parents, redo the spare rooms, and make the house more kid friendly. We've both wanted kids for a long time, this is our dream come true Alex." Olivia pleaded

"Olivia, you aren't thinking this out fully. You should know better than anyone that I would love to become Ben and Grace's mom, but it isn't that simple. We've both seen this happen to children before, and Ben and Grace aren't any different. I know you want to believe that they are, and that this situation is easier to handle because we know and love them so much, but it's not and we have to tell them." Alex said wiping the tears from Olivia's cheeks.

Olivia pulled away from Alex and got up from the bed. She walked to the bedroom window and stared out. Alex stayed sitting on the bed and just watched Olivia.

"Why did this have to happen to them? Why did this happen to us? Why does this happen at all?" Olivia said with a lump in her throat.

"You think it would get easier over the years but it hasn't, and I don't think it ever will." She continued

"How are we supposed to tell them? Is there even a way to tell them?" Olivia asked

"Well, don't worry about that. I'll figure it out I always do." Alex said unsure

"For now let's go back in there and make macaroni, and we'll tell them that we still don't know. Wipe your face off, I promise it'll be okay. It has to be okay."

Olivia wiped her face and tried her best to make herself look as normal as possible. She grabbed Alex's hand and waited for her to open the door. Alex kissed Olivia's cheek before opening the door. When she opened it she hit Ben in the arm narrowly missing Grace who was standing behind him. He had clearly been eavesdropping.

"She isn't coming back is she?!" He yelled

"She left us and you weren't going to tell us, were you?!"

Alex couldn't find the right words to say, she just stared at him as tears rushed down his cheeks and onto the hall floor. Before either Olivia or Alex could say anything, Ben grabbed Grace's arm, ran down the hall into his room, and slammed the door. Alex turned to Olivia who had let go of her hand, Olivia's face was soaked with tears. Without saying a word she walked over to the bed, climbed under the blankets, covered herself, and began crying loudly and heavily. Alex just stood in the doorway. Her body wouldn't let her move, even if it had; where was she going to go?


	3. A New Sheriff in Town

**Chapter 3**

Olivia lay in bed facing the ceiling. A single beam of moonlight rested gently on her face. It was midnight and she hadn't slept a wink. Thousands of thoughts were racing through her mind in an effort to console her, but they had all been in vein. She looked over to see Alex facing the opposite way. There lied the love of her lift who had been hurt, but not hurt by some random and unimportant stranger, but by her own wife and the two kids that everyone knew she wanted to care for. They'd never gotten into an argument like this before. Alex had never been so crushed and confused about what to do in her entire life. She'd always been the problem solver, and Olivia had always been right by her side supporting her. Ben and Grace added a new element to everything though, they were the curve ball that neither Alex nor Olivia had seen coming. They came into the middle of something that on the outside looked to be perfect, and had pinned them against one another for the first time. Was this what us was going to be like if Ben and Grace were adopted, or if they ended up having kids on their own? That was the question that Olivia couldn't get to go away.

"Are you asleep?" Olivia asked gently as she rolled her body so that she was facing Alex.

"No, and you haven't been either; I know that without even turning around." Alex replied immediately, as if she had been waiting for Olivia to make the first move.

"What have you been doing all of this time?" Olivia asked.

"The same thing you've been doing, thinking." Alex responded. She was still facing away from Olivia, and Olivia was starting to get annoyed with her.

"I'm sorry for putting us in the situation, I should have kept quiet and listened to you," Olivia said with real regret in her voice.

"Don't be sorry, Ben and Grace aren't stupid, they would have figured it out, and it would have been worse," Alex said starting to cry.

Olivia couldn't take Alex crying on top of her not looking at her as she tried to console her. Without thinking about it any longer, Olivia grabbed Alex's shoulder, pulled her toward her, and then brought Alex into her; Alex's face was now nestled in Olivia's shoulder and upper chest.

Alex had always been the one with Olivia nestled in her shoulder. Ben and Grace's curve ball brought the need for Olivia to take control, and be strong so Alex didn't always have to be. When she thought of this situation that way, Olivia was grateful to Benjamin and Grace for coming and turning their world upside down.

"You're beautiful," Olivia said running her hands through Alex's hair.

"You're beautiful and strong, so strong that sometimes you forget you're human, and that you don't need to be strong all of the time. From this point on I'm going to be strong with you and for you, the way you've been there for me these past 5 years."

Alex's cried dulled to a low whimper before she looked up at Olivia. Her face was bright red and puffy, but Olivia saw only the breathtaking beauty her wife had always had. Alex smirked slightly before sitting up to kiss Olivia. They kissed each other the way they had at their wedding, with hope for each other and themselves, but also out of pure and indescribable love for one another.

"I love you Olivia." Alex said clearing her throat, and wiping her eyes.

"I love you for making an honest effort and considering my feelings, you're irreplaceable and my one true love."

Alex and Olivia cuddled for nearly an hour after they had made up, they would have cuddled until the sun rose, but Olivia remembered the reasons they had fought and made up over.

"What are we going to say to Benjamin and Grace?!" Olivia said loud enough to scare Sam who was asleep just outside of their bedroom door.

"We'll figure it out in the morning." Alex said before kissing Olivia's neck, trying to get her focus back on cuddling.

"We won't have time, and if they go to school and tell anyone about what having, when they don't have the proper clarification, you know we'll have a social worker come to our door ready to take Ben and Grace from us. No one wants that." Olivia said moving her neck out of Alex's reach.

"So what are we going to do?" Alex asked sitting up trying not to huff over the loss of her cuddling time.

"We'll have to talk to them right now." Olivia stated

Alex leaned over and began nuzzling Olivia's neck in one last effort you get what she wanted.

Olivia pushed her away and rolled her eyes.

"You're an animal, I hope you know that," Olivia said trying not to chuckle.

"It's 2 in the morning Olivia." Alex said finally giving up the hope.

"That doesn't matter right now, they need to be talked to."

"You go grab them and I'll figure out what to say, and when you get back, follow my lead.

Without any further conversation Alex got out of bed and went down the hall to get Ben and Grace. She came back a few moments later with Grace draped over her shoulder, and Ben staggering next to them holding Alex's hand. Alex leaned over the bed and Olivia grabbed Grace from her shoulder, before she lifted Ben, who was starting to wake up onto the bed. Olivia's legs were crossed so she sat Grace on top of them, Ben sat in front of Alex rubbing his eyes.

"Wake up honey," Olivia said delicately as she stroked Grace's hair.

Grace stirred and whined softly as she began to wake up.

"You're Aunt Alexandra and I need to take to you about what happened this afternoon." Olivia said

"We know you were upset and we're very sorry, we didn't tell you as soon as we found out, we just thought that it'd be easier to tell you when you were older. We love you both so very much, we never wanted to see you hurt, but that just hurt you more." Olivia said softly

"We care about you two so much we wanted to make you our kids, but we never considered your feelings, and we're sorry about that. Just know that whether you end up with another family or with us, you'll always be our babies." Alex added.

"Ben, I know it's late but do you understand what we're saying?" Olivia asked.

"Yes Aunt Olivia, I'm sorry about getting so mad today, I didn't know you were trying to stop us from feeling sad and abandoned," He yawned.

"Grace, do you understand?" Olivia asked

Grace had already fallen back to sleep by then.

"Tomorrow we're going to go find out where you two are going to be staying, but for now back to bed, you have school in the morning." Olivia said to Ben

Alex helped Ben off of the bed and he began walking back to his room.

"Ben." Olivia said loud enough for him to hear from around the corner.

"Yes?" Ben answered

"No video game or television for 5 days starting tomorrow, you know better than to raise you voice, and you especially don't raise your voice to adults." Olivia said authoritatively

"That's not fair!" Ben whined

"I'll make it 10 days!" Olivia responded

"No, please," he pleaded

"Then go to bed, now." Olivia said

Ben ran down the hall and into his room.

"Want me to take Grace back to her room?" Alex asked getting up.

"No, she can sleep with us tonight." Olivia said laying her down gently in between them.

"When did you become a no nonsense mom?" Alex asked trying not to laugh.

"I have no idea, but it felt great." Olivia chuckled softly.

"Goodnight my love." Olivia smiled.

"Goodnight boss," Alex laughed.


End file.
